Since Target gave up on DEI, Rev. Jamal Bryant of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church believes Black shoppers should send a message by giving up Target.
In 1955, fed up with segregation on city transit buses, Black people in Birmingham, Alabama, refused to ride them at all. The months-long boycott, which hit downtown businesses along with the transit company, crippled the city; after losing millions in revenue, Birmingham officials agreed to integrate the bus system.
Seven years later, angry Black shoppers in Montgomery refused to patronize downtown retailers because of Jim Crow policies in their stores. It took just 37 days for store owners to give in and promise to treat Black shoppers with respect if they called off the boycott.
Now, it’s Target Corporation’s turn. Black faith leaders are urging their congregants to give up shopping there for the 40 days of Lent — a boycott known as “Target Fast.”
The boycott, organizers say, is punishment for Target abandoning its policies that encouraged racial diversity, equity, and inclusion in its operations, and ending its 2020 pledge to spend $2 billion in partnerships with Black-owned businesses.
”Black people spend $12 million a day at Target,” says Rev. Jamal Bryant, pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia, the leader of Target Fast. If even a portion of those dollars vanished even for one day, he said, the Minneapolis-based retail giant would definitely feel the pinch.
Bryant is joined in the call to action by other Black faith leaders of stature.
‘Renewed Jim Crow’
Senior Pastor Howard-John Wesley of Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia, has urged his congregation to join the national boycott. He directed them to TargetFast.com for information that can help them make an informed decision.
“We don’t just sit by and watch the world deteriorate,” he said, quoting Howard Thurman, a noted Black theologian and philosopher. “The power of prayer is directly connected to your willingness to be part of God’s answer.”
Meanwhile, the National Newspaper Publishers Association, a coalition of historic Black newspapers, editors, and journalists, will support the Target boycott with a national public education and selective-buying campaign.
Black people spend $12 million a day at Target.REV. JAMAL BRYANT, NEW BIRTH MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH
NNPA Chairman Bobby R. Henry Sr. said his organization will never be silent during the rise of “renewed Jim Crow racist policies in corporate America.”
Meanwhile, The People’s Union — which describes itself as a non-ideological movement for fairness — is calling for a total consumer boycott on Feb. 28. They envision “a day where we show corporations and politicians that we control the economy.“
Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and CEO of National Action Network, says the organization will join in the February 28 boycott. He calls the reversal of DEI programs at several corporate retailers an attempt to return Black people to the “back of the bus.”
The boycott would start on March 5 — Ash Wednesday — and last until Easter Sunday, April 20.
There’s no doubt that, collectively, Black economic power is significant. According to McKinsey & Co., an economic markets analysis firm, Black consumers spent about $910 billion on goods and services in 2019, and that total is expected to reach $1.7 trillion by 2030.
Under the plan, the boycott would start on March 5 — Ash Wednesday — and last until Easter Sunday, April 20. Black consumers are asked to take a pledge and commit to steering clear of Target — online shopping as well as brick-and-mortar stores — to send a clear message regarding the DEI measures it implemented years ago, ahead of many corporate peers.
Target landed in hot water with Black consumers not long after President Donald Trump returned to the White House. Just hours after taking the oath of office, Trump signed an executive order ending diversity and inclusion programs in the federal government, declaring a return to “merit-based” hiring and promotion.
Betrayal to Black Shoppers
Bryant said both the president and Target have gotten it wrong: “DEI initiatives first benefit white women, not African Americans,” he said.
Within days, major corporations and retailers followed suit, announcing they, too, were ending their diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and policies. Target was among them.
The move by Target seemed like a betrayal to many in the Black community.
It was among the first retailers to commit to diversity in its practices, showcased Black products in its stores, and committed to doing $2 billion with Black-owned businesses. Besides being a show of Black consumer muscle, Bryant sees the Lent boycott as leverage for a new set of demands.
“What I’m asking for is a quarter of a billion dollars to be invested in Black banks so that our Black businesses can scale,” Bryant told Black Press USA. “Target has 10 distribution centers near HBCUs, and I’m asking them to partner with the business departments of these institutions.”
As the start day approaches, the reach of social media has helped build momentum for what’s being called “Target Fast.” To ensure consumers have alternatives, Bryant joined with the U.S. Black Chamber of Commerce to produce a directory of 300,000 Black-owned businesses.
“You can’t tell people to refrain from this choice without providing alternatives,” Bryant said.
